Been watching this for a week

[Morda Grown]

Been watching this for a week and I'm kinda stumped. First, the new growth was giving me Taco leaves. I understand that in some ways it is normal, this was a little extreme. It had been hot for a few days so I thought it was just heat curl. Then the curl started to fix it's self and the leaves did this...

I have noticed 3 to 4 leaf hoppers on the top on every walk (3-4 times a day), could it be possible that they are causing this?

The lower part of the plant looks fine.

In the last month, It has had water from 1 rain and once Very Light just days ago when I added some Nutes. I did the same with all plants in containers and all others are fine. Any thoughts?

 

[Morda Grown]

Sorry about the multiple images if you saw them, I edited the post and each time a repeat set of photos inserted in the post. Had to remove all the images and add them back in to fix it.

This what I use for nutes it is 8-1-8-3S at 1/4 strength. I add about two table spoons down the tube once a week and on the top soil once a month.

 

[Morda Grown]

Found a caterpillar smoking hookah under a leaf. I showed him the door. Sometimes I catch things in photos I did not even notice for looking at other issues. Damn squatters.

 

[Morda Grown]

Lot's of views and no thought's... Did I stump everyone too? LOL. I think it is definitely leaf hoppers as I found nymphs today on a second plant. The leafs started scalling and have the same slight yellowing like above. So... Can anyone give me a suggestion on a good organic way of getting rid of them? I have been picking them off and killing all I find but, it is getting a me little nervy.

 

[CannaFish]

I find that leaf hoppers chew threw the bottom of the leaf petiole until leaf will collapse. I know there’s many different leaf hoppers though. Neem spray may help
I would be just guessing If I said I knew what was causing the leaf damage. Hard to tell without comparing other plants in same setups.
when I have outdoor plants in 5 gal buckets like that, they seem to appreciate getting watered every day when it’s hot out. And some shade in the hottest parts of the day.

 

[Morda Grown]

@CannaFish I have them in wicking pots so they always have a water reserve that wicks up. If I look down the tube I can see it there is water in the reservoir.

Because I have them out in the rain it can shed any extra water this way. If I see wilting or no water in the pipe I will add water in the pipe till I get run off out the drain.

Neem oil is my first thought. I was just wondering if anyone may have a better solutlutions or other ideas. It may also be that they are hungry and I need to bump the nutes a bit as well. I looked at a lot of the charts that show nute issues. I did not see anything about the scaling so it could be more than 1 nute that is lacking.

 

[Morda Grown]

This plant is in the same setup, same soil mix if it helps... The soils is a mix of potting soil, Chicken manure, horse manure, and compost. The only difference is I added a little extra potting soil to the top of this one, like a 1/4 inch to help fill the pot before transplanting.

Edit: My drain is a 1/4 hole in the side of the pot, I just noticed that pic shows it at the bottom.

 

[Morda Grown]

There was no neem oil to be found locally. I had this recommended to me, was told it should work for the leaf hoppers.

The active ingredients of Soybean Oil (39%) and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (19%) along with citric acid and isopropyl alcohol

I also gave all the plants a nute boost. It is to late tonight to spray so I will give the two infected ones a spray in the morning. I did not see any leaf hoppers on the plants today, but, I will give them a spray anyway.

 

[Morda Grown]

Got our first hard down pour and lots of lightning. Things always green and grow after a good lightning storm. Did not spray today because of it, but, I found no leaf hoppers or nymphs on any of the plants again today.

 

[CannaFish]

good that theres no visible bugs.
Maybe it's the nitrogen? in the air during a thunder storm.
the leaf hoppers i get on my plants are big enough to catch and squish. they like to move around the stem to avoid detection. just like a squirrel moving around a tree trunk avoiding a hunter.

 

[Morda Grown]

All the new growth is looking good now. It was definitely nutes. This is the one thing I'm noticing about container size. As the plant grows in smaller 5gal containers, you need to have nutes added a little more often.

 

[Morda Grown]

Just a little comparison shot:

This was taken a month ago

This was taken today

It is filling out nicely. It still has 3 more moths to grow.